Crutch



March 15 1927.

R. N. HUNTER 1 cmn'ca Filed Avril 17. 1926 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 15, 1927 I We.

orw'ron.

Application filed; Apr'u 17,:;1'926a- Y Serial No.,.1 02 ,me.

My invention; relates to crutches and more especially to providing acrutch having, folding rockers on itslower end. I am aware thatheretofore rockers have been provided for crutches, but not of thespecific folding type set forth in: my invention. It is an object ofmyinvention to provide a; rocker 'attaehment adapted to be attached to anlow-er end, in combination with oahr'esiliient member, such as rubber,.-With the sections of the rocker capable of being folded tipward-lyagainst the shanlico-f the crutch, thus allowing the crutch:- to be'used as an on dinary crutch when: desired, and also: being capable ofbeing used with' the sectional rocker unfoided: andi-in position forusein openspaces; together with means: for folding or unfolding" thesectional rocker while the'headi of" the crutch is located the armpitsof the user-:-

Another object of my'inventiorr i s to;pro-,

ride rock r attachment: for 'it 'oi u't'clli which maybe anjusted tosuit" the weight 01': the personusing thesame} I 7 Havin thusstated someof the ob ects of my invention, a brief description of the drawingsshowing a preferred embodiment of my invention will now be given inwhich- 7 Figure 1 is a side elevation of my crutch, showing the rockersin open position;

Figure 2 is an elevation of my devloe, looking at right angles from theview m Figure 1; i

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a portlon of my device, showing therockers in folded position;

Figure 4: is a perspective new of a port on of the means for adjustingand operating the rockers;

Figure 5 is an elevation, with parts broken away, showing the cuff androd for ad usting the rockers.

A brief description of the drawings having been given, a detaileddescription will rkno-tlienobject of my invention is to provide acrutch; with a sectionalrocker on its now. follow. in which likereferencecharact-ers indicate corresponding partsthroughv,

out the drawings.

The numeral 1. indicates a; crutch to; which my invention is adapted to;bGfirttlClllGfl; havthe head-piecefl, the handleB and the shank portion4. This shank portion 11' the smaller portion 5 adapted; to fit intothehol low pipe or shank extension- 6 The-shank extension 6 has theportions Tand' Sprojec't;

ing. from the sidesof its lower portiorrin oipposite directions; The proections? and b v have holes -tl'ieret'hrou-ghwhich serve to receive thebolts or, rivets 9 and l0uponwhi-ch arerplvotally mounted the rocker,members 11 10 piercing,li'olesgin' the flange portions of the rockerinem'bers; Thef rocker ,meinbe'rs 11 and 12 have upturnedfianges 13 14:,71:6 extending-fromthe" base" port-ions of t rockers: to/ apoint'sh'o'rt' of the tipport 17 and: 18 of therockers.

is shown in the drawings, but the c --correspondi ng 'fiangeto" 1% onthe rocker '12.

The memberiletl have a plurality of holes-such as 19 and 19' therein,and the flanges" on; the rock-er 1Q have a plurality of holes such as 2020 therein. Theseholesaareadapted to receive bolts or othersuitable'vfastening means 21 and 22, whicll are also ada ted' to pierceholesin the lbwer ends of t e membe s 23 fi tiv c and 24arepivotaliy:mounted as al- The: upper ends of the 'ni n'bers and 26 inthe cuff member 27 which encircles the shank extension 6, and isslida-bly mounted thereon These pivotal connections consist of splitprojections 28 and 28 between which the upper ends of the members 23 and24: are pivotally mounted by means of suitable bolts or nuts and 26,

piercing the split projections and the holes in the upper ends of'themembers 23 and 24.

A projection 29 extends from one side of the verticalhole, with a nut onthe lower side of the vertical hole, or the verticalhole from thedrawings.

may be threaded to receive threads on the lower end of the adjustablerod 30.

Secured to the crutch below the handle 3 is a perforated cross member 31which has a projection 32 on its outer edge, and in said projectionthere is the rectangular perforation 33, adapted to receive the upperThe lower end of the shank portion 6 has secured therein the piece ofrubber or other resilient material.42,-which bridges the gap between therockers when they are in open position, as shown in Figure 1, and whichserves as a resilient end for the crutch when the same is used with therockers in folded I V position, as shown in Figure 3.

The method of operation ofmy device is as follows: 7

With the device in open position as shown in Figure 1, and wit-h themembers 23 and 24 in the holes in the flanges on the rockers as shown,and with the rod 30 turned as shown in Figure 1, the crutch is ready foruse by a person of ordinary weight. When it is desired to fold thecrutch so as to permit its use in crowded places or while it is to beused for ascending stairways, the rod 30 is given a quarter turn, asshown by the dotted lines in Figure 4, and the rockers may be folded byan upward pull of the rod 30. WVhen the rockers are folded theadjustable rod 30 is reversed a quarter turn to its original position,and the crutch appears as shown in Figure 3, with the notch 40 engagingthe projection 32. v

WVhen-the lower ends of the members 23 and 24 are secured in any otherset of holes, as in 19 and 20 or in 19 and 20, the other notches in theupper portion of the rod 30 are used.

For a person of more than ordinary weight the lower ends of the members23 and 24 may be secured in the holes 19 and 20, and for a person ofvery light weight the said ends may be secured in the holes 19 and 20,thereby regulating and adjusting the resiliency of the rockers 11 and12.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a M crutch which fills a longfelt want in that it eliminates the shock to the armpits and shouldersand at the same time permits the crutch to be used under all conditions.

Having thus described one illustrative embodiment of my invention, Idesire it tobc understood that although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and. descriptivev sense, and not for purposesof limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in theappended claims.

I claim: 7 1. A crutch having a folding curved base piece.

2. A crutch having a folding curved base piece adapted to be folded atwill.

3. A:c rutch having a folding rocker member secured to its base portion.

4. A crutch having a segmental base piece, a head piece,means secured tothe crutch whereby the base piece may be folded by the user while theheadpiece of the crutch remains in the armpits of the user.

' 5. In a crutch, a hollow shank secured to the base portion, a cuffslidably mounted on said shank, rocker members secured to the lowerportion of said shank, members pivoted to the cuff and to the rockermembers, means cooperating with said cuff for sliding the cuff andswinging the rocker members on their respective pivots.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have signed thisspecification, this the 15th day of April, 1926.

ROBERT N. HUNTER.

